There's an App for That!

Last summer I was at a farmer's market and saw what I thought were most delicious watermelons... Until I got home and cut one open. It was grainy and not flavorful at all.

If you've ever wondered how to tell whether your produce is at it's freshest, there's an app for that! On iphone it's called Harvest. Check it out!

Frasian?

Haircots verts: French green beans.

My method: Asian-esque.

French, Asian... Fraisian? Sure.

Not my photo, but this is what they look like before being cooked!

So haircots verts are those little skinny baby green beans. I'd actually never cooked green beans before, but I saw them at New Leaf and couldn't resist. I can't really provide a legit recipe because I was just playing around, but I just had to share because they were delicious!

1. Cut the dry ends off of the beans.
2. Start out with a cold pan and cold oil. Sauté one clove of garlic on medium-high heat until golden.
3. Add green beans. Cook in the garlic oil for about 5 minutes.
4. Add red chile flakes, soy sauce, a little water, and some honey. Whatever you think will taste right.
5. Put the lid on and let steam on medium heat until they're almost cooked through (about 5 minutes).
6. Take the lid off, add about 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar, and keep cooking on high it until the glaze thickens.

This is more of a method than a recipe. To make it simple, just sautee them on high, steam them in a lot of flavor, then crank up the heat again. The Result: sweet, salty, spicy Frasian goodness.

Just for Fun: Downtown Pensacola Buildings

Green Hill Cheese

If you live in Tallahassee and you've never tried any Sweet Grass Dairy cheeses, you're doing yourself a great disservice. Especially if you've never tried their Green Hill cheese.

Green Hill is Sweet Grass's soft-ripened, pasteurized, double-cream cheese. It's delicious, gooey, sweet, salty, slightly acidic, and SUPER buttery. If only one food (other than butter, of course) could be described as buttery, it would probably be this cheese.

Oh, just look at it. If I had no self-restraint whatsoever I could easily eat the whole thing.

Okay, you're probably wondering what exactly makes this cheese SO great. What makes for a 1st Place American Cheese Society cheese? Is it some crazy secret ingredient? A state of the art manufacturing process? Nope. It's the cows.

These aren't the "Happy California Cows" that are stuck in factory farms and fed tons (literally) of grain every day. These are even happier Jersey cows that are fed on a traditional rotational grazing system right next door in Thomasville. They eat... wait for it... GRASS. I know. Weird, right? Cows eating what they are supposed to eat. And as a result, you get delicious milk and even more delicious cheese.

Sweet Grass Dairy is located in Thomasville, Georgia, so there are tons of places in town you can buy their cheeses. In Tallahassee, check out Simply Entertaining or New Leaf Market.

Cheese + Rosemary Bread + Grapes + Kalamata Olives + Honey = Delish Lunch

PS - Even Martha likes it!

Food for Thought

"He who eats alone chokes alone."

- Arab Proverb

Well then, I guess that settles the whole 'dining alone' issue. Have a happy weekend- and a meal with someone you love. :)